TRENTON — With music playing and the scent of hot meals wafting in the air, the Candlelight jazz lounge at 24 Passaic Street gave away dozens of free Thanksgiving dinners to members of the community on Thursday.

“We’ve had a decent amount of donations to make it work: Some food, some cash,” said lounge owner EC Bradley. “It’s been pleasant.”

For the lounge, Thursday’s Thanksgiving food giveaway was its third annual Sid Simons Feed the Hungry Dinners event.

The late James “Sid” Simmons was a Philadelphia-area pianist who played with Grover Washington Jr., Bootsie Barnes and other jazz greats from the City of Brotherly Love. Simmons died Nov. 5, 2010, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania after a long illness.

The lounge began hosting its annual Thanksgiving dinner giveaway in 2010 in honor of Simmons.

“It’s special for the community,” said Marsha Wiley, a volunteer who was serving food at the lounge. She said about 70 people were served as of 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Valerie Bradley, wife of lounge owner EC Bradley, said she spent three days preparing for the event, with her serving as the main cook.

“Everything was made with love,” Valerie Bradley said.

The lounge started serving the food at high noon. Some of the patrons were children who came by themselves to get a hot meal.

“If they came here for a plate, they didn’t have a plate anywhere else,” Bradley said of the several children who came to the lounge for a Thanksgiving meal. “Serving those kids, that was the satisfaction of the day.”

About the Author

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman has been working as a professional journalist since graduating from Temple University in 2007. Prior to his current stint at The Trentonian, Abdur-Rahman worked at The Philadelphia Inquirer and wrote a self-published memoir about his 12-month experience of living in Australia on a spouse visa. Reach the author at sulaiman@trentonian.com
or follow Sulaiman on Twitter: @sabdurr.